Meredith Cagen Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

Whenever I get an idea, it’s impossible for me to force my writing.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

Everything is on the computer.  My fingers move quickly across the keyboard.  It can almost keep up with my brain as it races along!

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

Living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, my senses are always aroused and there is an adventure around every corner….not to mention in the elevators.

4: Do you set yourself goals when you sit down to write such as word count?

Writers set goals like that?  That would be impossible for me.  I like telling a story, or getting my message across.  Word count, chapters, etc………….not a possibility.  I write my ideas, thoughts, visions, characters – my story.  My goal is to tell an interesting story.

5: Being a self published author how do you come up with your cover art?

My book, Size Eight in a Size Zero World centers on a working wife and mother who is initially out of shape and overweight.  The man who she is crushing on covets blonde models.  That is my cover, I explained the story to a graphic artist and whoa the perfect cover! 

6: What drives you to chose the career of being a writer?

I didn’t chose the career, it chose me.  These ideas, stories, characters flow out of me, I am only the vessel.

7: Do you own an ebook reading devise?

Ipad

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

Dan Brown, James Hilton, Stephenie Meyer, Karen Quinn.  I am reading Chelsea Handler’s books, I enjoy her comedy.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

Book trailers are just another way to promote a book and author.  I don’t have plans to do one – currently, but you never know.

10: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

I am promoting Size Eight in a Size Zero World to the public.  It is my dream to make my book into a television series.   

Meredith Cagen's Model

Title:  A Size 8 in a Size 0 World

Author: Meredith Cagen

Genre: Women Contemporary Fiction/ ChickLit/NYC ChickLit

ISBN: 978 1440169748

Copyright: 2009

Author's Bio

Meredith Cagen is a working wife and mother living in New York City.  She works as a freelance writer and registered nurse.  Her family has awarded her the “Queen of the Multi-taskers” title.  In her free time she goes to the gym and out to eat.

Meredith returned to school to obtain a Bachelors of Science in Nursing.  Finding the subject dry, technical and boring, she had a difficult time focusing on her studies.  Easily distracted, and prone to daydreaming, she wrote Size Eight in a Size Zero World.  

Synopsis

Meet Lindsay Chandler--a 32 year-old New York City working wife and mother with old-
fashioned values who thinks she's living a fairy tale life (she's not). She's too busy navigating
between her job, husband, home, children, friends and other obligations to acknowledge her
loneliness. Then an unexpected friendship with her upstairs neighbor (he is smart, successful,
sophisticated and sexy-- she's not) unleashes her passion and re-ignites her sparkle.

This liaison causes her to realize what she is missing. Yearning for a storybook ending, she
decides to make changes in her life, embarking on a quest for self re-invention in this hilarious,
witty, heart felt story.

In the tradition of Sex and the City, Size Eight in a Size Zero World, is a modern-day story of a
good girl trying to do the right thing and the wrong thing simultaneously, while remaining true to
herself, whoever that is.

With the help of a believable cast of characters, Lindsay embarks on a plan to better herself and
plight. This novel is a wickedly funny social commentary on the lives of average women in New
York City's posh Upper East Side.

What happens when the road to happily ever after takes an unexpected detour?

Blog:

Go Directly to Jail, Do Not Pass Go

When I was younger, I had a relationship that broke my heart.  Adverbs, adjectives and accolades did not do him justice. He was the perfect man.  No matter how many times he showed his true colors, I was steadfast in my belief that he was perfect.  I languished in my illusion (actually delusion) of his perfection. I was in love. 

I didn’t know what to do.  There was no expert who could guide me.  No published Q & A pertinent for my situation.  I searched for a plan, a guidebook, and a path to success: how I can get the storybook ending with Mr. Perfect.

Every “what not to do while dating” offense a girl can make, I embarrassingly made.  I was available for him.  Running to see him when he beckoned, accepting last minute dates, and accepting last minute cancellations.  I telephoned him, I initiated contact, I showed I was interested.  I accepted his lies, I had no self respect. I threw myself at him. I was insane!  Where were my friends when I obviously needed them?   An intervention was called for but no one restrained me.

Unwilling to consider the possibility of his rejection, I changed myself to meet his requirements.

Yes, Mr. Perfect had criteria.  His personal preference was models, blonde skinny models.  His office was loitered with photographs of Mr. Perfect with his choice of arm candy. It was a shrine to his ability to attract these trophy girlfriends.  A medium height, curvy size eight brunette didn’t seem to be a worthy enough prize for a man of his considerable talents. 

I tried my best to meet his standards.  I dieted, exercised, groomed, involved myself in his interests. I told him and showed him that I wanted him…………………and then I committed the biggest sin a girl can.   A don’t so whopping that I am banned from giving advice forever.  A mistake so huge, there is no known recovery.  I committed a felony. I told him, I was in love with him.  Yup, the girl police should have come and thrown me directly into prison or a padded cell on the spot.  No trial was necessary.  I was guilty of extreme stupidity and whatever else is beyond.

My idiocy haunted me for years.  If only I had a second chance.  What could I have done while staying true to myself.  In my fantasies, I would still be me, but smarter.  What was I thinking during this period of being in love?  How did I permit myself to act like a fool?

One day, I looked back at my past actions, those silly schemes, idealistic beliefs that if I loved him with a pure heart, he would love me back. I started to laugh.  It was funny, very funny. Telling this story would be my second chance and shot at redemption

My reality hit me as I lay pen to paper, Mr. Perfection was my upstairs neighbor, he was The Man Upstairs. 

That was the original title for my book, The Man Upstairs, but people thought it was a religious book.  Next title was What Was I Thinking? To this day, I am uncertain what was going through my head during that dark period of time.  Maybe I wasn’t thinking?  People thought that was a self-help book.

I will never fit into his model sized world.  I wasn’t who he wanted.  My size (thin not emaciated) didn’t matter because it is what is on the inside that truly matters. It’s a cliché but true.  Over time looks fade, have you ever swooned over an eighty year old?  You need that intellectual/emotional connection.  The older I get, it’s my sense of humor that gets me through the days.  I was/am a Size Eight in a Size Zero World.  And very happy about it!

Reviews

This book is everything Sex and the City 2 should have been -- smart and witty with a lot of heart! I've already bought a bunch of copies for so many friend who could relate to Lindsay. 

This is Meredith Cagen's debut novel and I hope she writes more. A LOT more! 

As soon as I read the first page, I knew I would love this book! Size Eight in a Size Zero World: A Novel by Meredith Cagen is written in a voice that resonated with me. The author's smart, witty style moves along at a good pace and it kept me turning the pages. I could relate to the conflicted heroine and I kept hoping she would wake up and smell the coffee. 

Lindsay Chandler is thirty-two, a working wife and mother, who lives in New York with her family. In the highfalutin' Manhattan society, she's an oddity, a woman who has a real day job, does not have a nanny and does her own cooking and cleaning. Lindsay's life looks perfect on the outside, but she's miserable on the inside. Her husband Grant, a divorce attorney, treats her like a servant, ignores their two kids and is an overbearing jerk. 

One day Lindsay gets into the elevator of her building and meets a man who gives her goose bumps. They strike up a friendship. He appreciates her, asks her for advice and befriends her kids. Lindsay falls hard. She loves the way they interact; he seems to accept her, perceived flaws and all. The more she sees him the more she realizes all that she's missing in her marriage. She questions her life with Grant and decides to reinvent herself and make some changes. It all leads to a satisfying conclusion. 

A wonderfully witty social commentary on the New York scene, this is also an endearing story of relationships, love and infidelity. The characters are believable and many women will be able to see themselves in Lindsay. Sometimes I wanted to scream at her and sometimes I wanted to cheer her on, but always she kept me reading. I highly recommend it.